The Founding of an Agile Business Consultancy
Glen Allen is the Founder of TIZZOREO.
TIZZOREO provides agile business consultancy services for large organisations. Their client list includes BT, BBC, and lAG to name but three. Glen jokes that his parents’ ambition was for him to work at the local Co-op. He hasn’t done badly for a Norfolk lad who grew up on a council estate.
Where it all started
Glen’s success can be traced back to a day at Norwich City College. A local small start-up came in to give a talk. Glen was “that” one in the audience – asking all the awkward questions and giving the speaker a hard time in the Q&A. Not necessarily something he would recommend, but for him, it worked and he found himself working for a .com.
For the next few years, Glen’s work was putting in servers and designing data centres. His IT director saw something in Glen. He would invite him to client meetings when perhaps someone in his position wouldn’t normally attend. He could see how Glen could read a room and drill down into what the customer needed to resolve and agree on the best solution to suit them.
Taking the plunge
After a few years, Glen moved into a financial services company. This exposed him to the corporate world. We are still talking early 2000s, and technology was only just starting to be the focus. Whilst it is normal now that IT is an invisible enabling service, back then it was struggling to find its place at the senior table: CIOs were still few and far between. Glen saw there was a need to take a different approach to IT within company strategy and culture. He decided he wanted to give it a go himself and set up his first consultancy company.
First contract
His first contract took him from the buzz of London to a small village in Ireland. Whilst it was a culture shock to his social and personal life, the contract also exposed him to the importance of the cultural curve within the business world!
City contracts
Glen’s next contract took him back to London where he took on the role of Head of IT for a FTSE 50. The first of many engagements taking Glen around Europe, including Paris, Milan and Bucharest, and to America, which started his lifelong love affair with New York.
He was the youngest person to ever hold such a position. After a few short-term contracts in the city, Glen’s company won an engagement with B.P.
B.P. was a major milestone for the growth of TIZZOREO. Glen and his core team were responsible for looking after the system's culture on the commodity trading floor at Canary Wharf. Having B.P. on your company contract history is a great door opener for other large international corporates. The next two contracts were with AT&T which then led to Vodafone.
From there the next big contract was Value Retail PLC. They are responsible for 11 shopping destinations across Europe and China, including Bicester Village. The team had a three-year contract not only developing internal IT systems, but also looking at issues such as footfall, brand success, and customer trends throughout Europe. After having worked with other consultants without success, the TIZZOREO approach of learning the ethos, what works and what doesn’t, and introducing a solution to suit was a success.
Ministers, Broadcasters and Healthcare
The next contract, with the BBC, had a similar background. There had been a number of attempts previously to make a cultural and IT shift without success. Glen laughs at how he spent his time sharing an office with the Dancers from Strictly, and then with IT experts whilst working on this three-year contract.
Glen jokes the next two milestone contracts may be considered a bit of a jinx. A contract with Whitehall had the team working with senior ministers for nine months, running scenarios of Brexit outcomes. Followed by a contract with the NHS just as covid hit. No more need be said other than both ended up with a great outcome, which led to further contracts with energy and transport sectors, councils, BT and airlines. These were largely based in APAC, focusing on people, processes, and technology.
Success factors
When speaking to Glen he displays humbleness when mentioning such names as B.P., BBC, and Whitehall. It’s as if the boy from the Norwich council estate still can’t quite believe he didn’t end up working at the local Co-op (think of the points if he had worked there all this time!). As TIZZOREO’s founder, who is still in his early 40s, he is clearly very proud of his achievements, and his team.
TIZZOREO and Glen’s success can be attributed to various factors over the years. Taking a different approach from other consultants means the team not only learn what makes the company tick but sticks around to make sure the culture changes are embedded and have worked. Recognising change needs to be bigger than day-to-day - it needs to be a cultural change – this makes the difference.
As TIZZOREO has grown, so has the requirement to coach and develop senior leadership teams within the client base. Glen has been fortunate enough, with many of these, to work with their most senior managers and directors across the globe, to provide a trusted ear. This has included assisting with direction, implementing and designing organisational change and culture. A role he relishes.
Glen has created a culture where the TIZOREO team are empowered and valued, often being encouraged to push their boundaries to create solutions that make a difference. With an international client base, having a strong core team is vitally important and the highly skilled associates with TIZZOREO share his beliefs and approach, providing a sustainable, and consistent partnership with clients. And of course, Glen’s skill, which can be seen all those years ago at the talk given at his college - he can ask the awkward questions needed to get to the root of the issue without offending!